Tuesday, August 10, 2010

I have been hearing on the news of the rash of pets being abandoned or put up for adoption due to inability to feed them or care for them. That may have touched my home this week. My son found a small dog alone in our local dog park. Other dog owners were there but were unable to take him in, so with the choice of calling animal control, my son brought him home.

Our dog doesn’t seem to mind him, but she also doesn’t seem to be sure if he is a puppy or a toy. For certain the little guy can only take so much of her trying to clean him, and who can’t understand that. She had a litter of puppies a little over a year ago and keeps trying to clean him, but alas, he is not receptive. By the end of 24 hours together, they seem to have agreed to steer clear of each other. That works for me, because this little dog would not have much of a chance against ours since she had 8 rather rowdy puppies whom she had to put the “smack down” on often.

Upon finding this little guy at 10:30 PM on Sunday night, we decided to divide and conquer. I followed him around the house making sure he did not decide to mark his territory, while my son set about making a flier. Our thought is that he was abandoned in a dog park hoping a dog owner would take him in. He was freshly groomed, and still had a collar indentation in the little bit of fur that remained. He is house broken, sweet and very well-behaved. I am hopeful that he was just lost and some passerby put him in the dog park thinking that would at least keep him safe and out of traffic. My son and the other dog park visitors say that is wishful thinking, but we are putting up fliers to give a pet family a chance to recover their dog in case he is just lost. If he isn’t, we will find him a good doggie home, even if it is ours.

My son immediately looked on the AKC website to try to determine his breed (or as close as we can get). He decided on an English Toy Spaniel and designed a quick, “Found Dog” flier. Monday morning, he went about printing and distributing the fliers after walking 2 dogs twice, and one he had to carry in and out. He visited our local vet and pet care stores, of which there are five in our immediate area. Also, on Monday I posted on FB to see if anyone was interested in this little guy because I would rather not keep him. I’m fairly certain our dog would rather us not keep him as well, if he isn’t going to play with her. A former classmate of mine recently had her dog get out of the yard and has not returned home, so she would love to have this little guy.

This particular abandoned doggie story has a happy ending. I can only hope there are other big hearts out there like my son’s, and other divine interventions such as bringing this little guy into my classmate’s life just at the right time. I am sharing this story in hopes that others will think just a little beyond themselves and extend a helping hand, just as I’m sure this little guy’s family was hoping someone would do when they made the decision to leave him there. I am not by any means condoning abandoning your dog in a dog park, or any other public place, nor the act itself, by any stretch. But I do believe you have to be desperate to abandon your beloved family member, and I feel badly for this family for their loss. I do wish they had put a string with a note around his neck giving his name and confirmation that he needed a new family. “Little Guy” or “Rhino” or whatever his new family calls him will have a happy ending.